'Provocation Was There Before Violence': Shocked Mira Road Locals Now Seek Peace

Hindu & Muslim residents of Mira Road's Naya Nagar, shocked by communal clashes since Sunday, now seek normalcy.

"I did not send my kids to school for the last two days fearing more trouble. But I can't keep them indoors forever. What had to happen has happened already. We need to move on now," said Nahida Syed, a mother of two who lives in the Naya Nagar area of Mumbai's Mira Road.

Syed had stepped out of her home for the first time on Wednesday, 24 January, since the night of 21 January when communal clashes erupted in the area following an alleged attack on a Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha procession.

Nahida's family has been living in the locality for six years but had not seen any communal tensions so far.

"Nothing of this sort has ever happened. I don't think anyone had planned this. Bas ho gaya hoga. We didn't step out for three days but we have to survive. I do fear for my kids and my husband but what option do we have? I just hope things return to normalcy," she said.

'Tensions Were Escalating for Days Before Violence...': Residents Recall First Clash

Just like Syed, many residents of the Naya Nagar locality are shocked with the events that have taken place in the past few days, an area which has been peaceful in the past.

A Muslim-majority locality in terms of its residency, it also has several commercial establishments.

Locals said that on the night of 21 January, a procession led by members of the Hindu community allegedly came outside the Taini Villa mosque and Mohammed mosque on Lodha Road and raised religious slogans. The procession reportedly had bikes and cars with saffron flags.

Rizwan Khan a local said: "Some of them then mistakenly turned on a road with a dead end. That road has a masjid. The people present there thought the bikers were trying to enter the masjid. This situation escalated there further and some locals attacked the bikers."

Videos of the clashes on Sunday, including that of a woman being attacked, went viral on social media.

"Another mistake by some boys of the Muslim community was that some of them recorded videos of the incident where the bikers can be seen retreating. These videos were posted by them on social media sites and also taking credit for scaring them away. This was wrong. This again added fuel to the problem," he said.

Locals, however, claim that tensions had started simmering in the locality days before the Pran Pratishtha event in Ayodhya temple that took place on 22 January.

"Some people used to come here near the mosque and chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and go away. They would create nuisance and return after senior people intervened. Things would go back to normal once they left. What happened on Sunday was a continuation of that," Khan claimed.

According to the police, several videos had surfaced on social media a day prior to the clashes. One Abu Shaikh has also been arrested by the Mira road police for allegedly instigating violence through social media after he posted a video addressing Hindus asking them to "back off or bear the consequences."

'Provocation By Local Leaders Didn't Help'

What surprises many is the continuation of the violence and skirmishes in the area on Monday and Tuesday despite the heavy presence of police personnel and Rapid Action Force (RAF).

While a stone-pelting incident was reported on Monday, visuals that went viral on social media on Tuesday showed shops and vehicles of Muslim vendors being vandalised by mobs bearing sticks.

Many locals also alleged that the tensions could have reduced through the next two days if local politicians would not have given speeches and put up social media posts that amounted to provocation.

Mira-Bhayander BJP MLA Geeta Bharat Jain, while speaking to news agency ANI on Tuesday claimed that locals had erected barricades in the area to not let anybody enter. "We met the commissioner to tell him that barricades in the locality must be removed. He has assured that will be done. If they are not, we will remove the barricades ourselves and pass through the area," Jain said.

On being questioned about threatening videos from some members of the Muslim community, Jain said: "Some of them are asking for fifteen minutes (to take action), some of them are saying they can take action in 10 minutes. The numbers that we have, five minutes are enough for us," Jain said.

In a post on X on Thursday, Jain said: "Sanatan culture is the oldest among the civilizations of the world. Hinduism is the identity of this civilization. It gives the message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam to the whole world, and is known for its ideals, tradition and tolerance. But history is witness to the fact that whenever there has been an attempt to cross the limits of tolerance, Hindus have raised their voice. If you extend the hand of brotherhood, we will do the same, but if you try to threaten it, we will stand by the religion. Hindus are tolerant, not cowards."

सनातन संस्कृति इस विश्व की सबसे पुरानी सभ्यता हैं। और हिंदू धर्म इसी सभ्यता की पहचान है। वसुधैव कुटुंबकम का संदेश पूरे विश्व को देनेवालीयह सभ्यता अपने आदर्श, परंपरा और सहिष्णुता से पहचानी जाती है। लेकिन इतिहास गवाह है कि जब जब इस सहिष्णुता की सीमा लाँघने का प्रयास हुआ है तब तब… pic.twitter.com/5fa4EbisLN

— Geeta Bharat Jain (@MLAgeetajain) January 25, 2024

Police Ups Security But Bulldozer Action Scars Residents

Two days after the clashes, the municipal corporation on 23 January bulldozed 15 illegal structures in the riot affected Haidary Chowk. Though the municipal officials deny that this had to do anything with the riots, the shopkeepers and residents feel otherwise. 

Sajid Shaikh stays in the same building below which an illegal shop was raised. "This (demolition) was just to show us our place. Ye sab dikhane ke liye hai. Such illegal changes have been made in every shop here. Why demolish these shops now?"

Most residents believe that the razing of shops was politically motivated.

The Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) police has so far maintained that the riots were not pre-planned.

The police said that 19 people have been arrested for rioting and posting inflammatory content on social media, and further probe is on to identify fake videos and book perpetrators.

Shrikant Pathak, additional commissioner of police, said: "The police have registered 10 FIRs so far in connection with rioting and posting inflammatory or fake content on social media. Six FIRs were registered following Sunday night’s rioting in Naya Nagar, two FIRs pertained to stray attacks on street-side stalls on Monday; and two FIRs pertained to posting communally charged/fake videos on social media."

He further said that the cops are collecting evidence and verifying all CCTV footages of the incidents and more arrests will be made accordingly.

Over 1,000 police personnel, including six platoons of the State Reserve Police Force and three platoons of the RAF have been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident.

The police has also warned various group admins about posting inflammatory posts on social media network.

'Don't Politicise Further': Hindus and Muslims of Naya Nagar Seek Normalcy

The Quint also spoke to the non muslim shop owners and residents in the area who echoed sentiments of wanting to return to normalcy.

Ganesh Prajapati, runs a medical and general store in the area for past 25 years.

"Why should I feel unsafe? I have been staying here and wroking here for more than 25 years. I had no disturbance from any Muslims staying here. I would have moved out of here if that was the case. I don't know the sequence of events which happened that day, but it is just one unusual incident and it should not be politicised," Prajapati said.

Monu Singh, a vegetable vendor said: "Generations of my family have been selling vegetables here and we never had any problems. What happened should not have happened at the first place. The police should have been more vigilant. I think there was some sort of confusion else this was not possible."

Dr Azeemuddin, a renowned social worker from the area said: "All this is done to disturb the communal harmony of the area. We have been residing here since years now. Never we have seen anything of this sort happen earlier. We also understand that Pran Pratishthan was a moment of happiness for every one. We are happy too. It should be celebrated. We all celebrate Diwali and Eid. There is equal participation."

"There was no need for all this commotion. There is no harm in chanting Jai Shri Ram. Both communities have indulged in hooliganism which is wrong. These politicians want to create rift and they did it deliberately. I urge everyone not to believe in rumours and stay united," he added.